Northern Star: Blue plaque honour for Leeds newspaper

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It was the newspaper which campaigned for the rights of the country’s growing working class population.

The Northern Star played a key role in advocating for social and political change.

It was established in 1837 by Irish Chartist campaigner and Member of Parliament, Feargus O’Connor.

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The paper was an eight page “broadsheet” that cost four and a half pence and was printed in Leeds in a shop then known as 12/13 Market street, located on Briggate and what is now known as the Central Arcade.

The Northern Star boasted a circulation greater than The Times and by February 1838 the paper was selling 10,000 copies a week. According to historians the readership could have been up to twenty times the actual sales, as publicans bought copies for their working class customers and workers clubbed together to buy copies between them.

The Northern Star played a key role in advocating for social and political change.The Northern Star played a key role in advocating for social and political change.
The Northern Star played a key role in advocating for social and political change. | Leeds Civic Trust

The publication was so popular that people would gather around the roadside waiting for deliveries, the publication was read out aloud in pubs, workplaces and homes to those unable to read or afford it.

The paper campaigned against the exploitative practices of the factory system at the time of the industrial revolution, as well as the repressive the Poor Laws. It was also engaged with international causes, such as the campaigns for Canadian independence, Irish home rule and ending slavery in the Americas.

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Feargus O’Connor.Feargus O’Connor.
Feargus O’Connor. | Leeds Civic Trust

It’s influence was significant among workers in newly-formed and growing industrial cities in the Victorian era. Due to the high level of demand the paper finally moved to London in November 1844.

Fast forward to 2024 and the newspaper is to be recognised with a blue plaque honour highlighting its part in Leeds Working Class history. It is set to be unveiled on Saturday, November 30, at 1pm on Lower Briggate outside Leeds Central Arcade.

The campaign for a blue plaque was led by Malcolm Chase, Professor of Social History at the University of Leeds until his death in 2020. He was an expert in the Chartist movement and had long campaigned for the city’s role in its development to be recognised.

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Leeds Civic Trust Director Martin Hamilton said: “We are delighted to support this blue plaque for The Northern Star, a standard bearer for the working classes. At a time when many people consume their news via social media, it is easy to forget that newspapers could be agents of social and political change. This plaque will act as a reminder of this important fact.”

Nominee, Steve Johnston, said: “The printing of the Northern Star in Leeds marks a milestone in the history of the British Working Class, the progressive movement that it organised and encouraged is a testament to the ability of ordinary people to enter the stage of history……the Blue Plaque will be a tribute to such people. A fine tribute to Malcolm Chase’s campaign to have it recognised”

Leeds Civic Trust promotes the improvements of Leeds in the spheres of planning, architecture, heritage and city amenities and is responsible for the blue plaque scheme in the city.

Since 1987 the Trust has unveiled more than 200 plaques across the district celebrating people, events and buildings that have made a significant contribution to the city of Leeds

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